The invention relates to pneumatic tire treads as well as to pneumatic radial tires comprising such a tread, such tires being suited for use on or off-road.
Off-road tires tend to have an aggressive, all block tread pattern, which provides good traction by digging into the ground. When used on paved surfaces, however, the tires cause a rough ride and tend to be very noisy. Partly because of the roughness of the ride, such tires have a high rolling resistance on paved surfaces.
It is known in the art that ribbed tires, i.e. tires having continuous "ribs" of tread rubber annularly around the tread, provide a smooth quiet ride on paved surfaces. Such tires provide poor performance when used off-road since there are no aggressive blocks for digging into the ground.
It is an object of this invention to provide a tire that provides good off-road traction, while providing a quiet, smooth ride on paved surfaces, as compared to conventional off-road tires.
It is a further object to provide a tire tread having an improved rolling resistance, as compared to conventional tires used off-road.